A Simple and Rapid Fluorescent Probe for Detection of Cr³⁺ Based on a Coumarin Schiff Base in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

A new Cr³⁺ probe was synthesized using simple Schiff base reaction, which showed prominent fluorescence increasing switch before and after addition Cr³⁺. The probe proved to have excellent properties, based on both UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra. Those properties included high switching performance, good selectivity, and small interference with other metal ions. The fluorescent change mechanism of the probe was attributed to the combined action between the restricted C=N isomerization and the suppression of highly efficient photo-induced electron transfer (PET) process. Moreover, this fluorescence probe for Cr³⁺ detection also has great potential for bioimaging of cancer cells.